29 April 2025 - Hugh Cornwell - Another Kind of Love

The former leader of The Stranglers released an album in the late 1980s, and it was a pretty good pop-rock album that never really went anywhere.  

This was the biggest hit from that album, and it was a hit because of the video. This song, which came out two years after Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer", was directed by avant garde artist Jan Švankmajer, in his only forray into music video (the Brothers Quay, who made the "Sledgehammer" video, were influenced by him).  

Anyway, the song itself was a minor US alternative hit but also, it's a fun song. Cornwell brings the same Stranglers bravado he always had. 

Cornwell does not tour much, but he does perform this song, still.  Here he is performing it live, and playing guitar.

28 April 2025 - James - Laid

Let's talk about the only song by James that you know, "Laid".

OK, maybe not, but this song represents their only trip to the Billboard Hot 100 - and that was after suffering some serious attempts at censorship at the hands of MTV - who wanted to change a pretty bold line that you certainly know about her only able to do something when "she's on top" *drums*

The band didn't even take the song seriously - they were going to use it as a B-side. However, producer Brian Eno convinced them otherwise, and it was the best decision they ever made. Released in late 1993, it ended up bringing them great success both in their native UK and overseas. 

The song is about getting laid, people. 

By the way, more than three decades later, James is still together and still performing. This performance, from last year, still sounds as great as it always did. 

25 April 2025 - Charlotte Lawrence - Why Do You Love Me

Sometimes, I am surprised at the stuff I have not posted yet.  This is not one of them.

You see, Charlotte Lawrence has skated under my radar, and it's been only recently that I discovered her. Which is weird, because her dark pop sounds hits my wheelhouse hard. This 2019 single - from her 2021 EP Charlotte (release schedules are so weird these days) - is a phenomenal example of this. It's fun, and yet also dark. 

Lawrence is also an actress - she has a recurring role on the AppleTV series Bad Monkey, not coincidentally developed by her father, Bill Lawrence (her mother is actress Christa Miller, who you either know from Cougar Town or The Drew Carey Show, depending on your age, and Charlotte looks an awful lot like her mom).  There. I said it.  Now let's talk about the music.

Actually, I don't have a lot more to say about the music except that it was written by a long list of people, including the artist and Charlie Puth. Also, the video is pretty fun and playful, in spite of the dark lyrics.

She also released an entire acoustic version of Charlotte, including this song, and I can't lie - I like it.  It's a darker song with the extra production missing, but it still hits. 

24 April 2025 - Chairlift - Met Before

A couple of days ago, I featured a solo artist that emerged from a previously posted band.

Today, I go in the other direction.  

Before Caroline Polachek was a solo artist, she was in a band called Chairlift.  Polachek founded the band with Aaron Pfenning in 2005, and they lasted more than a decade before breaking up in 2017. 

This song, the second single from their 2012 album Something, is fun and sonically interesting. At this point, Pfenning had left the band, but early member Patrick Wimberly was still there. Polachek and Wimberly co-wrote this song, which has hints of an 80's sound (the band mentioned OMD and Art of Noise among the influences on this album). 

There's a lot of record of the band performing the song live, but my favorites are the stripped down versions, like this one for Belgian radio, where it's just a guitar, keyboard, and voices.....  

... or this duet version that even removes the keyboard. Polachek and Wimberly had a nice harmony that really pops here. 

23 April 2025 - Los Lobos - Shakin', Shakin' Shakes

This song by just another band from East L.A. was the lead single from their third album, By the Light of the Moon, in 1987.

It did not chart, but it DID get a lot of MTV airplay, and I have to say, it's what really got me into the band, ahead of their hitmaking years. Co-written by Cesar Rosas (the vocalist) and T-Bone Burnett (the producer), the song has a rockabilly/Latin feel - which makes sense given the songwriters. 

On an album that is somewhat bleak, I always found this song to be a bright breath of fresh air, even as a 15-year-old music fan in 1987. 

Guys, the band is still together, and the core of their lineup is still together, all these years later.

And of course they perform this song live, still.

And of course they still sound great!!

22 April 2025 - George Michael - Faith

Strangely, we have twice posted Wham! on here, but never George Michael solo work.  

And yes, when I posted this last year, I very clearly called it more of a George Michael solo song, but it wasn't in name.  THIS was.  

This was Michael's second solo single, but also, probably his most iconic single.  It held the top of the Billboard charts for four weeks in 1988, becoming the biggest single of the year by ANY artist. The song was never intended to be a single - until it was and THAT is when the songwriter - not coincidentally, George Michael - added the famous guitar solo. 

The pipe organ at the beginning is actually a nod to a Wham! song, "Freedom".  

And c'mon, the song is just fun.

25 years later, he performed the song live and it still sounded great. 

21 April 2025 - beabadoobee - Beaches

I'm guessing a lot of you who are indie pop fans are saying "well, it's about time he got here."

I got here.  This draft has been kicking around for months. 

And really, Beatrice Laus is one of the greatest and most accomplished singer/songwriters of her generation, so it's surprising she's not a household name already.  But it's starting to happen - this was a top 40 Rock chart song in the United States and was also a hit in New Zealand. From her fantastic album This Is How Tomorrow Moves, this song was released as a single in late 2024 and is an absolute gem. 

I was originally going to post this last week.  

I'm glad I waited, because she performed this song THIS WEEKEND at Coachella, and that was a delightful performance that I now get to share with you.